Monash University

Monash is unusually international for an Australian university — it has campuses in Malaysia and Italy and a research centre in India, and students can move between them inside one degree. Pharmacy and pharmacology are its strongest fields by reputation.

Most international students are at Clayton, the largest campus, which runs its own bus network into the centre of Melbourne.

Monash decides admission against the requirement for the individual course, and the pharmacy, medicine and health programmes carry extra selection steps beyond the academic result.

• Completed Class 12 from a recognised board for undergraduate entry, with the prerequisite subjects the course states — chemistry and mathematics for pharmacy and pharmaceutical science, mathematics for engineering and IT.
• A recognised bachelor's degree for postgraduate entry, with the cognate background the course requires and weight on the later years of study.
• English evidence through IELTS, TOEFL or another accepted test at the level set for your course, which is higher for the registered health professions.
• Complete transcripts and certificates, and a statement of purpose for most postgraduate coursework applications.
• Academic references, a research proposal and supervisor availability for research degrees.
• Interviews, aptitude tests or portfolios where the course specifies them, and for the health programmes evidence relating to registration and placement requirements.

If you are considering starting at the Malaysia campus and moving, confirm the transfer conditions in writing before you apply, since they are set course by course.

Monash charges international students per course and per faculty, and the fee is calculated on the units you enrol in, so the meaningful number is the one published against your own course rather than any university-wide average.

• The faculty sets the level. Pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences, medicine and health, engineering, IT, business and arts sit at distinctly different rates.
• Laboratory and clinical courses cost more to deliver and are priced accordingly, and the pharmacy and health programmes also carry placement-related costs that fall outside tuition.
• The campus matters. Monash Malaysia has its own fee schedule, so a programme available at both sites does not carry one price, and a study period at the Prato centre in Italy is costed separately as well.
• Compulsory charges outside tuition — the student services and amenities charge, overseas student health cover for the visa period, and equipment or uniform costs on some programmes.
• Indicative fees are republished each year, so a four-year degree should be budgeted with annual increases assumed.

Work from the fee on your own course page for your campus and your year of entry, together with the university's estimate of living costs in Melbourne. Ask us to confirm the current figure and what it includes before you apply.

Funding at Monash runs through central international scholarships and a substantial set of faculty-administered awards, with the health, pharmacy, engineering and business faculties each maintaining their own.

• Central international merit scholarships, assessed on academic record, with some considered from the admission application and others needing a separate form.
• Faculty awards tied to a discipline or a named course, published by the faculty and frequently missed for that reason.
• Awards specific to a campus or an intake, including ones attached to study at the Malaysia campus rather than in Australia.
• Research training support for higher degree by research candidates, combining fee relief and a stipend, allocated competitively in rounds.
• Government-funded international programmes, applied for separately and well before the course closing date.

Scholarship rounds usually close ahead of the course deadline and many are assessed only on complete applications, so submit the admission application early if funding matters to the decision.

The main Clayton campus sits in Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs, a large self-contained site with its own libraries, sports facilities and residences, reached by train and bus rather than by tram from the city centre.

• Several Australian campuses with different characters — Clayton for science, engineering, IT and pharmacy, Caulfield for art, design and much of business, Parkville for pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences, and Peninsula for health and education.
• A genuinely international structure. Campuses in Malaysia and a centre at Prato in Italy mean exchange and study-abroad are ordinary parts of a Monash degree rather than an exception.
• On-campus residential accommodation at Clayton, applied for separately from your course and with its own deadlines; shared housing in the surrounding suburbs is the usual arrangement afterwards.
• A large clubs and societies scene covering faculty societies, cultural and national associations, performance and volunteering, plus extensive sport with social as well as competitive grades.
• A strong Indian and South Asian student community across the campuses, with active associations and events.
• Melbourne itself a train ride away, with cold wet winters that catch out mid-year arrivals.

Because the campuses are spread out, check which one your course is taught on before you sign a lease. Living near the wrong campus means a long daily commute across the city.